You know, I've lived in Arizona for 20 years now, and have never been stung by a scorpion. Did get into some cholla once, though...

I'm not a native, so I don't know of a cure, but if you're having that kind of problem, you may want to talk with an exterminator (well, maybe your parents should). Unless you happen to live out in one of the unincorporated (or nearly so) parts of Arizona/Phoenix Metro - most of these critters should be fairly rare, provided there isn't any dead wood or other such habitat near the house.

As far as the pain - I can't sympathize well because I've never been stung - if you were older, I'd say "drink some tequila until you pass out or can't feel anything"...

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My wife, who is a native, has told me (for you) that if you are not having difficulty breathing (which I don't think you are, otherwise why are posting here - get to the hospital!) you should take an advil, and a benedryl, and that's about all you can do.

Remember:

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

- Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear (Frank Herbert - Dune)

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I'm sure it's not comparable but I had my first bee sting this summer. I didn't think of avdil but benadryl didn't help nor did OTC steroid cream. After the first 24 hours calamine lotion was a bit of help with the itching.

Been stung twice, once on the hand and once on the ankle. Both hurt badly and nothing except an ice pack helped much. My neighbor swears by benedryl though, he seems to get stung a couple of times a year. Try an ice pack, benedryl and aspirin.

These days I try to get the dog to look under stuff first, if they won't, I get a stick.

Don't know about scorpions, but for wasps and bees and ex-special forces guy told me to use topical benadryl (stick, spray, etc). The sooner you can get it applied after the sting, the better. Apparently it stops (or slows) the allergic reaction to the sting.

I grew up in TN and found a few scorpions once. They were small (1" or so) and in a bunch of exposed shale on an embankment. Never saw 'em anywhere else. Didn't manage to get stung, somehow.

A home remedy my mom used was to take a little baking soda and mix into a paste with water. apply to the stig. I cary a small amount in my pack for stings when I camp. If you have other symptoms ( death, hard breathing, swelling ) go visit a doctor.

As for scorpions, centipedes and similar nasties, we see them all the time. On the few occasions I wear shoes (once or twice a year) they are a good reason not to leave them out over night.

I always check a pair of old shoes I keep out in my shop, even though I live more "in the city" than I do "in the country" (or suburbs - I'm sure are one time, where I live was "the suburbs" - but that was 40 years ago). Not so much for scorpions (but you never know), but more for possible black widow/brown recluse spiders (or if I get really unlucky, a large wolf spider). Just a good idea here in Arizona, no matter where you live. Better to check than to get bit...

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Yep, even in the city there's plenty of bities, over here we have the redback (same/similar as black widow) and the funnelweb spider. I don't think wolf spiders are particularly poisonous but, maybe we use that name for a different species.

I got a phone call once "been stung by scorpion, its really sore, can't speak the local language do I need to go to the doctor". With a description of the scorpion, a quick scan of the net (isn't it fantastic!), the fact that she was breathing okay (as cr0sh said), talking okay, heart okay I was comfortable to say just keeping an eye on things but no need to dash of to hospital. The end result was one tiny scar.

The information on stings was really interesting. If I remember correctly the potency of the stings various through the day. Very strangely the stings of what are apparently exactly the same species of scorpion can have vastly different consequences depending on what country you are in - they put this down to scorpion's diet being different. The scorpion's sting contains a whole host of toxins attacking different bits of you. How much venom is injected and how big you are important in determining the effect.

In most cases it seems scorpion stings are about as bad as bee stings. Just keep the sting area clean, dry and cool and if you feel normal and don't swell up things should be fine.

Yes, I read that stuff when I got stung the last time. In my case, with my particular scorpion (bark scorpion, little guy), it flat hurt like the devil. Stung on the ankle and my whole leg went numb. I could walk, but I had to take it easy or turn my ankle because I couldn't feel it like normal. The point of sting hurt for about 24 hours and the numbness lasted roughly 6 hours or so before it started going away....slowly. It left no mark or any indication I was stung when it was all over.

So I'm a wimp. I hope Jeremy's alright, he hasn't been back since posting.

OK, Graynomad, go ahead and laugh at me. Silly little bug and I go all girly.....

Some time ago (in the 80s I think) I had just been stung by one of these buggers, they are about 1" long

The jaws are obvious in this shot but they also have a sting in the arse (ants are related to wasps and these ones are more closely related than most, just wasps without wings really).

They hurt like hell and about 20 bites can kill you, I commented to a work mate "Can you imagine what can pack such a large punch for it's size?", he though for about a mS and replied "The AIDS virus".

One difference between say the scorpion and a spider is the physical design of the pointy bits, all else being equal a scorpion's sting is longer than a spider's fangs and therefore more able to penetrate clothing etc. Same with snakes, some of the most venomous only have small fangs and don't pose much of a threat to people wearing jeans and boots for example, that's little comfort to me though because I doubt I've worn long pants or even shoes more than a dozen times in the last decade, unless I'm doing some physical work (perish the thought) or on a bush walk.

That is a pity, apparently a scar from a scorpion sting confers a lot of street cred.

There seem to be some seriously weird things in Oz, doesn't one of the spiders have fangs that can actually penetrate a shoe or is that a myth? There is also a tiny octopus that can kill an elephant - why would it need/want to do that?